It is desirable to provide an LED lighting source with an overall shape and/or size within the bounds of a lamp with equivalent light output (e.g., lumens) that it replaces. This is particularly difficult for higher output lamps, such as HID lamps (e.g., HPS, MH, CMH), due to the need for cooling of the LED junction. A prior art solution has been to mount LED modules on an open framework extended from the lamp base such that ambient air can circulate through cooling fins on the back of the module(s). However, this may have problems if exposed to wet, dirty, or otherwise unfavorable ambient conditions. In other cases, an enclosure may be needed to prevent physical contact. Thus enclosing the LEDs in a glass bulb/enclosure/jacket is desired, but attempts so far are generally limited to a low power due to difficulty of extracting heat from the enclosed volume, or for higher power the lamp assembly is overly complicated and expensive.
It is an object of this disclosure to replace an HID lamp with an enclosed LED light source of equivalent (high) lumen output. It may be further desirable for the LED source to be contained in a bulb (outer jacket) with an electrical connector configuration that can be retrofit into an existing fixture. This means that relatively high power LEDs must be used, and that will require new means and methods for adequately cooling the LEDs.